A A new round of negotiations between Hamas and the Israelis, with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, is expected to begin this morning in Cairo, the Hamas official told the France-Presse (AFP) news agency, on condition of anonymity. .
The indirect negotiations aim to obtain a second truce in the fighting in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and Israeli hostages.
The first, lasting one week, took place in November 2023 and allowed the release of 105 Israeli and other nationalities hostages in Gaza and 240 Palestinians.
“The Hamas delegation will meet with Egyptian officials this morning. Afterwards, a Qatari delegation will join the meetings and the Qataris and Egyptians will try to reconcile the points of view of the two parties” through several rounds of negotiations , explained the person close to Hamas.
“We expect the negotiations to be very complicated and difficult, but Hamas is open to discussions and willing to reach a ceasefire,” he added.
On Wednesday night, a few hours after meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who called for new truces, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected any concessions in the negotiations.
Furthermore, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to “prepare” an offensive on Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are concentrated.
On Wednesday night, on the eve of leaving Israel, Blinken considered that there was still “room for an agreement” on the hostages between Israel and Hamas, despite Netanyahu’s statements, and called on the Israelis to show restraint, both in actions and speeches.
The October 7 Hamas attack caused the deaths of more than 1,160 people on the Israeli side, most of whom were civilians killed on the same day, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
Around 250 people were kidnapped. According to Israel, 132 hostages remain detained in Gaza, 29 of whom have died.
In response, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that caused 27,840 deaths, the vast majority of them women, children and teenagers, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
Read Also: Army detained two suspects in the October 7 attacks in Gaza
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2498195/hamas-ainda-aberto-a-um-acordo-de-cessar-fogo
